Improvement in apparatus for and process op distillation



- 2 SneewSheet 1. G. S. WILLIAMSON.

Alcohol Still.

No. 107,147. Patented. Sept, 6, 1870.

WITNESSES.

l NVENTO H.

- 2 SheetsSheet 2. G. S. WILLIAMSON. Alcohol Still.

,147. Patented Sept. '6, 1870.

WITNESSES.

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GEORGE S. WILLIAMSON, ()F GALLATIN, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND ED- WIN R.MCKEAN, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

Letters Patent N 0. 107,147, dated Sqrtcmber fi, 18 70.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR AND PROCESS OF DISIILLATION.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. WiLLIAMsoN, of Gallut-in, in the county ofSumner and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful 1mprovement in- Apparatus and Process of Distillation; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in whichand alsoto the mode by which said whisky is finished during the continuousprocess of manufacture and it consists First, in devices to produce andregulate, automatically, the vertical movement of the revolving rake orbreaker. I 7 Second, in the devices and their arrangement for usingcharcoal or other agent to purify and refine the vapors from the stillwit-host losing-any portion of spirit with the spent coal.

Sour mash is that in which pot-ale or spent beer is used, instead ofyeast, to produce fermentation. The mash .is, therefilre, very thick,and it has, until recently, been ci'istomary to employ a large. numberof mash-tubs, and, to perform the breaking up or mixing, hand-labor hasbeen employed.

It is now proposed to employ one large tub in place of a large number ofsmall ones, and machinery instead of hand-labor. i

To accomplish this latter purpose, I employ a revolving rake, which,while it revolves, is also caused to penetrate gradually into the mash,as great strength and power in the machinery would be required to stirit to the whole depth atonce; and, in connection with said 'rake, I havedevised automatic devices. by means of which its movements-in a verticaldirection may be arrested, either when the bottom or topof the mass hasbeen reached.

Having set forth the nature of the first part of my invention, 1 willparticularly describe its construction and mode of operation.

A represents the mash-tub, and

B,'the iermenting-t-ub, into which the mash runs through a pipe or otheroutlet, 0, said outlet being closed by a valve, to retain the mash untilthe stirring is completed.

A driving-shaft, D, transmits power from the prime motor to the mashingmachinery, and, therefore, passes directly below the mash-tubs, of whichthere may bea greater or lesser number, according to the capacity of theworks.

The center of the mash-tub is perforated, and there is a hollowcylinder, E, which extends upward as high as the side of said tub, toform a passage for the rakeshaft F, which, for convenience, I prefer todrive from below.-

The shaft F may be either square or cylindrical, but, if the latterform, a feather must be laid upon it, to couple it with the rake-head G,which revolves with said shaft, and also traverses up and down along it.

The upper part of theshaft F is provided with a screw-thread, H, and anut, I, is fitted to said thread, and is, at the same time, looselyconnected to the rake-head G, by means of the braces J J and plates K,or some other convenient way, so that, as said not traverses saidscrew-tln'cad, it will cause the rakehead G to move longitudinally alongthe shaft F,'either up or down, as the case may be.

The upper extremity of the shaft F is provided with a journal, fitted tothe bearing in the bracket L, and between said bracket and the end ofthe screwt-hread 'rI, being a space a little greater than the depth ofthe nutI, the shaft is turned blzmlc, as at AI,

so that, when the not I is run up to the top of the shaft; F, it willpass clear of the screw-thread, and said shaft may continue to revolvewithout causing the nut to jam.

At the bottom of the shaft F is a bevel gcar wheel, N, and upon thedriving-shaft'D there are two corresponding bevel driving-pinions, O 0,either of which may be put in gear with N, and the rake and shaft F maybe caused to revolve in either direction, as may be d sired.

It has been stated that the rake-head is loosely connected to the nut I,and-it will appear evident that, if said nut is prevented from revolvingwith the shaft F, it will be forced to traverse up and down said shaft,according to the direction of its revolution. I theretbre secure to saidnot a lever, P, and I also secure an adjustable stop, Q, to someconvenient part of the frame-work over head. Said stop may beconvenientlv made by placing a narrow strip of wood between twoclamping-screws, so that it may be ad justed, or, in general practice,it may be sutticient to permanently secure said stop, and cut its lowerend at the proper length.

When, now, the rake G is revolving and descending into the'inash in thetub A, the lever P will be in contact with the stop Q, and the nut Iwill hev thereby restrained from revolving with the shaft F,

and, being so restrained, itwill be compelled to traverse downward, andforce the teeth of the stirrer deeper and deeper into the mash.

The stop Q must be so adjusted that, before the stirrer has quitereached the bottom of the mash-tub, the lever 1 will have reached thelower end of said stop, and slipped off the same. The nut will then havecommenced to revolve with the shaft and rake, and the latter will notdescend any further.

\Vhen the mashing has been completed, the mo tion of shaft and rake isreversed, and, if necessary, the lever 1 may he arrested by hand untilthe nut has traveled upward sufficiently far to cause said lever tore-engage with the stop Q.

Another mode of arranging this stop for the lever l is shown at the leftof fig. 2..

The T-stop Q is pivoted to the bracket (1, so that the T may be raisedor lowered, as shown by dotted lines, by means'of a rod, 1', which ispivoted to the rear end of the T, and extends downward through thefloor, convenient to the hand of the attendant, who shifts the gears O Oto reverse the motion of the shaft F. i

With the stop-Q the scrmv-threzul A may extend up over the space M, andthe nut I will not then run off the end of the said thread, and therewill be no possibility of damage by a failure to take the threadproperly when motion is reversed.

The attendant, who reverses the motion of the rake, may also cause there-engagement of lever P with the stop, from his position on the floorbelow,v

by pulling or pushing the rod r, as thccase may be, and so bring thestop opposite the lever, instead of requiring the presence of anattendant at the mashtub, who shall arrest and bring the lever to thestop.

The stop Q may be held in position bya pin, p, set in the'fioor, orother convenient device, so that it may be regulated with equal facilityfrom above or below.

If the driving-shaft D is arranged along the ceiling ofthe mash-tubroom, then the stop Q may be ar ranged with springiatches, or otherwell-known devices, to retain it in proper position, and permit it to bemoved, as above set forth.

The second part of my invention relates to the method of purifying thespirit vapor as it comes from the still.

I am aware that charcoal and other purifying agents have been employedto purify and finish theliquor, either by placing the coal in the stillwith the mash, or by placing said purifying agent in chambers, throughwhich the vapors are caused to pass. By the firstnamed of these methodsa very large quantity of coal is required, which not only in itself iscostly, but it decreases the capacity of the still. By the secondnamedmethod a small quantity of coal will suffice, but a material quantity ofspirit is retained therein, and is lostwhen the spent coal isdischarged.

These disadvantages are obviated by my invention, because the spent coalis precipitated into the still or doubler, and there subjected to heatsufficient to volafilize the spirit which has been absorbed, before thecoal and spent slop are discharged.

The nature of the second pint of my invention having been set forth, Iwill particularly describe the construction and operation which I preferto adopt.

In fig. 1 7

1t isthe still, which receives its mash from the fer- I menting-tubs, ofwhich B represents one.

S is the doubler;

T 'I are the coalers or refiners;

V is the lOiVAVllTeS tub; and

\V is the pipe to conduct the finished whisky to the cistern-room.

The coalers may be placed upon the still instead of upon the doubler, asrepresented, if desired. The low-wines tub V and the doubler S are eachprovided with return-pipes, x x, in the usual manner.

The above-named devices, excepting the coalers T g T, in theirconstruction and arrangement do not differ from those in common use;therefore, no description will be required, excepting as to the coalers,which consist of two or more vessels, T, united by necks, which eachcontains a valve, a, constructed to arrest the solid particles of thepurifier, but to permit the vapor to pass free] y.

Said valves are also provided with chambers, into which they may bewithdrawn when it is desired to pass the contents of one chamber intothe one next' below. This is shown clearly in figs. 2 and 4.

At the side of each chamber '1 thereshould also be a trap, b, for thepurpose of introducing fresh coal, or relieving any obstruction of thepassage at or near the valve.

In operation the coal is only inserted at the trap of the upper chamber,and is successively passed to the chambers below, and finally into thestill or doubler below, to extract the portion of spirit which it hasabsorbed from the vapors. I

As each charge is' moved downward, a fresh charge is introduced into theupper chamber and thus the vapors are always exposed to a fresh purifierin the last refining-chamber through which it passes.

I prefer to construct the purifying-chainbers in the form representei'l,as that secures the greatest in closed capacity, with the leastmaterial, and presents the puriiiermostadvantageously to the passingvapors.

The discharge from one chamber toanother is also rendered easy.

Having described my invention,

\Vhat I claim as new is-- 1. The adjustable rake Gr, constructed toberaised or lowered by meansof the nut I upon the screwshaft F, incombination with the lever P and stop Q, or their equivalents, for thepurpose set forth.

2. In combination with the nut I and lover J, as and for the purpose setforth, the pivoted T-stop Q, 'a-r ranged to operate substantially in themanner dcscribed.

3. The arrangement of the refiners above the still or doubler,substantially as described, so that the spentcoal may be discharged intosaid still or doubler, for the purpose of saving the spirit contained inthe spent coal.

'4. The refiners formed of separate vessels, T T, arranged as described,provided with trap b and with interposed pcribrated valves a,substantially as set forth.

5. The refiner formed of several chambers, each provided with a trap, b,and with interposed valves, substantially as described, and for thepurpose set forth.

' G. S. WILLIAMSON.

Witnesses:

B. F. ALLEN, J. C. RODEMER.

